Sunday, August 26, 2012

One Small Step for Man : Organizing the HP Fun Run 2012

"That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind."
- Neil Armstrong, 1930-2012

August 26, 2012, McKinley Hill. There's always a first time. Human history is marked by many such firsts like the first steam engine, HP's first oscillator, or man's first step on the moon.

This morning marked a new milestone for me because it was my first time to have a major role in organizing a race. While the preparations have been going on for months, today was our D-Day - the moment we finally saw the realization of our vision. And if it had crossed my mind even for a second that "seeing it happen" meant watching on the sidelines, I still would've had been infinitely wrong.

We were already at The Venice Piazza at 2AM to get ready for our big day, but I had been awake since 7 PM of Saturday because of a mixture of emotions that range from serene hopefulness to anxiety to turmoil. Our Race Director Eugene Yasay had asked me to co-head Programs and Safety and I made sure I was at the site very early to secure the items that we had planned for, particularly for Safety.